Recipes for Disease Management
Non-toxic Preventions and Treatments for Bacterial and Fungal Diseases:
Milk Sprays, Molasses Sprays, Compost Teas
These are not poisons nor are they fungicides. Instead, they stimulate beneficial microorganisms to suppress the disease-causing microorganisms. The soil food web is enlisted to control unwanted outbreaks using ecological balancing. You might think of it as “good guys vs. bad guys”. Your job is to feed the beneficial microbes, maintain as healthy a growing climate as possible, and avoid applications of materials toxic to your microorganisms.
With any disease outbreak, remove the badly diseased leaves and take them far away. This will slow the progression of disease to new leaves.
Recipe for Milk Spray for Powdery Mildew & Other Diseases
Add 1 cup of milk to 9 cups of water. Raw milk is preferred but pasteurized milk will work. Spray twice a week at concentrations of 10% and higher. It controls powdery mildew on zucchini squash vines better than the hazardous fungicides fenarimol and benomyl. (Crop Protection vol. 18, 1999)
Recipe for Molasses Spray for Fungal Diseases
1 cup molasses
1 cup seaweed powder (optional)
1 cup powdered milk (optional)
1 cup rock powder (optional)
1 gallon warm water
Backpack or pump sprayer
Old panty hose
Fine-meshed strainer
Yield: About 1 gallon on molasses spray.
1. If you are using only molasses, stir thoroughly into warm water, and spray (skipping steps 2
and 3). If you have any or all of the optional ingredients, mix the molasses and powders into a thick paste and follow steps 2 and 3.
2. Wrap about 1 cup of the paste in the panty hose and tie it into a ball. Place the ball in water and let it sit for 2-4 hours.
3. Strain the liquid and mist plants every few weeks. You can use it to stop the spread of fungal disease or apply as a preventive.
Compost Teas for Fungal and Bacterial Diseases
Please note that there are two (2) kinds of compost tea. Both are a source of beneficial microbes and some nutrients.
1. the old style anaerobic and stinky but somewhat effective compost tea, and
2. the recent Actively Aerated Compost Tea (AACT). It smells earthy and is much more effective.
Old-style Compost Tea Compost sits in a barrel of water and ferments anaerobically for about 10-14 days. This product provides beneficial bacteria. Strain, apply, and start a new batch of anaerobic compost tea so it’s ready to apply in 2-3 weeks. Wash tea-sprayed produce before you eat it. (From Organic Gardening, Nov 1994 “Compost Tea Therapy”)
Recipe for Anaerobic Compost Tea
Mix finished compost with water in about a 1:5 or 1:8 ratio. Allow to ferment for 7-14 days at temperatures between 590 and 680 F. Stir occasionally. Strain, dilute with water, and apply with ordinary sprayer. Don’t use a sprayer that has pesticide residues. Use on botrytis-infected leaves and fruits, and the humid, dark areas inside of large plants where many diseases often get a foot-hold. If a serious disease outbreak is already in progress, soak the healthy leaves with the tea.
Actively Aerated Compost Tea (assuming it is made properly, applied within 5-8 hours, and lab tests verify its biological contents) provides more comprehensive disease prevention and treatment. It suppresses more plant diseases due to its microbial diversity, especially the fungal microbes present.
Where to buy fresh compost tea (AACT)? Watch for new seller from Chugiak 2024.
Recipe for AACT Compost Tea
To brew it yourself, see www.soilfoodweb.com and www.earthfort.com for a brewing manual, information, research, resources, brewers, and products.
About Sprayers
Pick the right sprayer for your garden’s size. For a few plants or a small garden, a hand-held pump spray bottle will do the job. For a medium-size garden, a 1 ½ gallon pump sprayer will speed up the application. For bigger gardens a backpack model not only holds more spray, but is easier to haul around. (Great Garden Formulas, Rodale Press, 1999.) Always label your sprayer for contents. Never use a sprayer that has been used for fungicides, insecticides, or herbicides. Always wear goggles, gloves, and dust mask.